The effects of transliterations, thematic organization, and working memory on adult L2 vocabulary learning

2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 141-165 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alison M. Tseng ◽  
Martin C. Doppelt ◽  
Natasha Tokowicz
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Vocabulary Learning ◽  
Working Memory Capacity ◽  
Native English Speakers ◽  
Memory Capacity ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
Arabic Translation ◽  
Lexical Representations ◽  
Translation Accuracy ◽  
L2 Vocabulary

Abstract We examine how L2 vocabulary learning is affected by the information provided to the learner during training, organization of the to-be-learned vocabulary, and working memory capacity of the learner. Native English speakers were taught Arabic vocabulary in seven sessions, during which they heard L1 (English)-L2 (Arabic) translation pairs. Training was manipulated between participants by crossing the presence vs. absence of a transliteration and thematic vs. random organization of vocabulary. Session, working memory capacity, transliteration condition, and organization condition interacted in English-Arabic translation accuracy. Participants with lower working memory capacity performed best in the transliteration-thematic organization condition, whereas participants with higher working memory performed best in the transliteration-random organization and no transliteration-thematic organization conditions. Translation RT and free recall were not related to working memory, and were best in the transliteration conditions. Results suggest that adult L2 vocabulary learning is aided by exploiting well-established spelling-sound connections to improve L2 lexical representations.

Bilinguals on the garden-path: Individual differences in syntactic ambiguity resolution

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-16
Author(s):  
Trevor Brothers ◽  
Liv J Hoversten ◽  
Matthew J Traxler
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Executive Function ◽  
Sentence Processing ◽  
Working Memory Capacity ◽  
Native English Speakers ◽  
Memory Capacity ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
Language Experience ◽  
Garden Path ◽  
Verb Subcategorization

Abstract Syntactic parsing plays a central role in the interpretation of sentences, but it is unclear to what extent non-native speakers can deploy native-like grammatical knowledge during online comprehension. The current eye-tracking study investigated how Chinese–English bilinguals and native English speakers respond to syntactic category and subcategorization information while reading sentences with object-subject ambiguities. We also obtained measures of English language experience, working memory capacity, and executive function to determine how these cognitive variables influence online parsing. During reading, monolinguals and bilinguals showed similar garden-path effects related to syntactic reanalysis, but native English speakers responded more robustly to verb subcategorization cues. Readers with greater language experience and executive function showed increased sensitivity to verb subcategorization cues, but parsing was not influenced by working memory capacity. These results are consistent with exposure-based accounts of bilingual sentence processing, and they support a link between syntactic processing and domain-general cognitive control.

Individual differences in lexical repetition priming: the combined influence of language, mood and working memory capacity.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nikolas Pautz ◽  
Kevin Durrheim
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Individual Differences ◽  
Repetition Priming ◽  
Working Memory Capacity ◽  
Memory Capacity ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
Primary Language ◽  
Affective States ◽  
Completion Task ◽  
Word Stem Completion

Individual differences in repetition priming is an often-overlooked area of research. The importance of this neglect becomes evident when considering the criticisms that priming research has received in the last decade concerning reliability. The current researched aimed to investigate whether individual differences in working memory capacity and affective states have differential effects on lexical-semantic repetition priming outcomes based on whether participants were first or second English speakers. Using logistic mixed-effects models to account for subject variation, the current paper investigated a three-way interaction between working memory capacity, negative affect score, and language on repetition priming outcomes. The results indicate that a statistically significant three-way interaction exists. We present an argument which posits that an individual’s primary language and subsequent familiarity with the primed concepts, in conjunction with individual differences in working memory capacity and mood, plays an important role in determining the most effective strategy used to complete a word-stem completion task.

scholarly journals Working memory capacity and the retention of L2 vocabulary

2007 ◽  
Vol 1 (39) ◽  
pp. 55-74
Author(s):  
Mailce Fortkamp ◽  
Daniela Verçosa
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Working Memory Capacity ◽  
Memory Capacity ◽  
L2 Vocabulary

Learning new words for objects and nonobjects

2008 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 325-348 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joe Barcroft ◽  
Gretchen Sunderman
Keyword(s):  
Semantic Processing ◽  
Vocabulary Learning ◽  
Native English Speakers ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
New Words ◽  
Word Forms ◽  
Real Objects ◽  
Object Familiarity ◽  
Similarity Ratings ◽  
L2 Vocabulary

In this study we compared second language (L2) vocabulary learning with real objects versus nonobjects as referents (a) to test the effects of increased semantic processing (when learning nonobjects) and (b) to assess the viability of using L2 vocabulary learning with nonobjects (which forces learners toward concept mediation) for future studies on the development of conceptual mediation. Native English speakers attempted to learn 24 pseudowords using real objects and nonobjects as referents. After the learning phase, they completed two posttests: picture-to-L2 recall (productive) and word-picture verification (receptive). Scores were submitted to analyses of variance with condition (object, nonobject) as a within-subject independent variable. Other analyses tested whether object familiarity and nonobject similarity ratings had an effect on participants’ ability to learn the words. Regression analyses were used to test whether condition (object, nonobject) affected the participants’ accuracy in learning the words on the word-picture verification task. Additional analyses were also performed on the extent to which the mismatch between learning and testing as objects and nonobjects affected accuracy. The results of the study suggest that (a) the additional semantic processing involved in learning with nonobjects decreases learners’ ability to learn new word forms and that (b) L2 vocabulary learning with objects and nonobjects is a viable experimental paradigm for measuring the extent to which L2 vocabulary learning involves L1 lexical mediation.

EFFECTS OF VARIABILITY IN FUNDAMENTAL FREQUENCY ON L2 VOCABULARY LEARNING

2013 ◽  
Vol 36 (3) ◽  
pp. 423-449 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joe Barcroft ◽  
Mitchell S. Sommers
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Fundamental Frequency ◽  
Vocabulary Learning ◽  
Native English Speakers ◽  
Spanish Speakers ◽  
Speaking Rate ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
Tone Language ◽  
Word Forms ◽  
L2 Vocabulary

Previous studies (Barcroft & Sommers, 2005; Sommers & Barcroft, 2007) have demonstrated that variability in talker, speaking style, and speaking rate positively affect second language vocabulary learning, whereas variability in overall amplitude and fundamental frequency (F0) do not, at least for native English speakers. Sommers and Barcroft (2007) hypothesized that English speakers do not benefit (with regard to second language vocabulary learning) from amplitude and F0 variability because these are not phonetically relevant to them. The present study further tested this hypothesis by examining effects of F0 variability among adults who speak a tone language (Zapotec-Spanish bilinguals) and those who do not speak a tone language (Spanish speakers with substantial knowledge of English). Participants attempted to learn 24 Russian words while hearing the words and viewing their corresponding pictures. Three levels of F0 variability were compared. Fundamental frequency variability significantly improved vocabulary learning for speakers of the tone language (Zapotec) but not for the Spanish speakers. This result provides strong evidence that effects of acoustic variability on learning new word forms depend on phonetic relevance.

Differential Effects of Executive Processes on Working Memory

2016 ◽  
Vol 37 (4) ◽  
pp. 239-249
Author(s):  
Xuezhu Ren ◽  
Tengfei Wang ◽  
Karl Schweizer ◽  
Jing Guo
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Cognitive Processes ◽  
Latent Variable ◽  
Working Memory Capacity ◽  
Memory Capacity ◽  
Attention Control ◽  
Executive Processes ◽  
Differential Effects ◽  
Prepotent Response ◽  
Two Measures

Abstract. Although attention control accounts for a unique portion of the variance in working memory capacity (WMC), the way in which attention control contributes to WMC has not been thoroughly specified. The current work focused on fractionating attention control into distinctly different executive processes and examined to what extent key processes of attention control including updating, shifting, and prepotent response inhibition were related to WMC and whether these relations were different. A number of 216 university students completed experimental tasks of attention control and two measures of WMC. Latent variable analyses were employed for separating and modeling each process and their effects on WMC. The results showed that both the accuracy of updating and shifting were substantially related to WMC while the link from the accuracy of inhibition to WMC was insignificant; on the other hand, only the speed of shifting had a moderate effect on WMC while neither the speed of updating nor the speed of inhibition showed significant effect on WMC. The results suggest that these key processes of attention control exhibit differential effects on individual differences in WMC. The approach that combined experimental manipulations and statistical modeling constitutes a promising way of investigating cognitive processes.

Working Memory Capacity and a Notorious Brain Teaser

2006 ◽  
Vol 53 (2) ◽  
pp. 123-131 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wim De Neys ◽  
Niki Verschueren
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Secondary Task ◽  
Working Memory Capacity ◽  
Memory Capacity ◽  
Task Load ◽  
Normative Reasoning ◽  
Monty Hall Dilemma ◽  
Monty Hall ◽  
Memory Resources

Abstract. The Monty Hall Dilemma (MHD) is an intriguing example of the discrepancy between people’s intuitions and normative reasoning. This study examines whether the notorious difficulty of the MHD is associated with limitations in working memory resources. Experiment 1 and 2 examined the link between MHD reasoning and working memory capacity. Experiment 3 tested the role of working memory experimentally by burdening the executive resources with a secondary task. Results showed that participants who solved the MHD correctly had a significantly higher working memory capacity than erroneous responders. Correct responding also decreased under secondary task load. Findings indicate that working memory capacity plays a key role in overcoming salient intuitions and selecting the correct switching response during MHD reasoning.

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